Finland's rules on tax-free employee gifts don't fit neatly into a single number the way some countries' do. Verohallinto (the Finnish Tax Administration) actually runs two separate systems side by side: a genuinely open "customary and reasonable" standard for milestone gifts, with no statutory euro ceiling at all, and a specific, fixed €100-per-year figure for general small gifts that aren't tied to any particular occasion. Mixing the two up is the single most common mistake employers make. Here's how each one actually works, honestly, including where Finnish law gives you a real number and where it deliberately doesn't.
Milestone gifts: no hard cap, but a practical guideline
Under Tuloverolaki (TVL) 69 § 1 mom. 3 kohta, a gift given to an employee to mark their own milestone birthday (typically the 50th, 60th, or 70th), a wedding, a long-service anniversary (usually 10+ years of employment), retirement, or the employer company's own anniversary, is tax-free as long as it meets two conditions: it's "tavanomainen ja kohtuullinen" (customary and reasonable), and it's given in a non-cash form.
What the law does not do is attach a euro figure to "reasonable." There is genuinely no statutory ceiling for this category, no fixed number written into the tax code that a milestone gift must stay under. This is different from countries like Germany or the UK, which set an explicit threshold, and it means Finnish employers are working with a standard rather than a limit.
That said, Verohallinto isn't silent on the point. Its own published guidance offers a practical reference point: a reasonable value for a milestone gift is generally one to two weeks of the recipient's gross salary. It's worth being precise about what this figure is and isn't. It's Verohallinto's own benchmark, useful as a planning guide when you're deciding what to spend, but it is not a hard legal ceiling in the way a fixed euro amount would be. Going a bit over one or two weeks' salary doesn't automatically trigger tax on the whole gift; going wildly over what's "reasonable" for the occasion and the recipient's role is what puts the exemption at risk.
General small gifts: €100/year
The second category is where Finnish law actually gives you a specific number. For a general minor gift, one that isn't tied to any particular employee milestone (a Christmas gift is the classic example), Verohallinto's administrative threshold is €100 per employee per year, VAT-inclusive.
A few things to know about how this figure works in practice:
- It's a combined annual total, not a per-gift allowance. If you give multiple small gifts during the year, add them up: together they need to stay within €100.
- It must be given collectively or uniformly to staff generally, not singled out for one or two individuals as a personal reward.
- It has to be in non-cash form, same as the milestone-gift rule above.
This €100 threshold is genuinely the one fixed, precise figure in Finland's gift-tax framework. Unlike the milestone-gift guideline, it functions as a real administrative ceiling: staying inside it is what keeps the gift out of taxable wages.
12 gift ideas within the €100 general gift limit
Because €100 is a generous annual ceiling for a single general gift, most individual items sit comfortably below it with plenty of room to spare. The 12 products below range from €1.33 to €11.00 per unit, so a well-chosen gift, or even two combined during the year, still leaves headroom under the limit.
1. Recycled PET Pen: the everyday essential
A low-cost, sustainable pen that works as a standalone token or a small add-on to a bigger gift, using only a small fraction of the €100 general gift threshold.
- Material: recycled PET plastic body.
- Branding: pad print or laser engraving.
- Order: MOQ 300 · from €1.33/unit.
2. Sports Socks: the safe favourite
Sunday's most-ordered item, a small, unexpected gift that always lands well, and leaves almost the entire €100 annual allowance untouched.
- Material: 80% cotton, 17% polyamide, 3% elastane.
- Branding: knitted-in logo zones.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €4.00/unit.
3. Americano Mug: the classic that never goes out of style
Every office runs on coffee, and a branded mug is a dependable, well-used gift that stays well inside the €100 ceiling.
- Material: durable ceramic, dishwasher and microwave safe.
- Branding: full-colour print or engraving.
- Order: MOQ 108 · from €4.04/unit.
4. A5 Notebook: FSC-certified paper
An A5 hardcover with elastic closure and ribbon marker, practical with a traceable material story, and one of the lowest-cost items on this list.
- Material: FSC-certified paper, PU cover.
- Branding: debossing or print on the cover.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €4.58/unit.
5. Premium Tote Bag: the lightweight carry
A heavyweight cotton tote with a premium feel, everyday enough to actually get used, and comfortably inside the €100 general gift limit.
- Material: 270gsm cotton.
- Branding: print or custom straps.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €6.44/unit.
6. Knitted Scarf: the cosy extra
A high perceived-value item for a winter gift, priced well inside the €100 ceiling even alongside a second small item later in the year.
- Material: 80% viscose, 20% polyester.
- Branding: woven label.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €7.66/unit.
7. Canvas Travel Pouch: the low-MOQ pick
A neat pouch for cables, toiletries, or odds and ends, with a minimum order quantity low enough for smaller teams.
- Material: heavyweight cotton canvas.
- Branding: print or embroidered patch.
- Order: MOQ 25 · from €8.30/unit.
View the Canvas Travel Pouch →
8. Baseball Cap: the everyday accessory
An affordable, highly visible accessory that works all year round and leaves plenty of room under the €100 threshold.
- Material: 100% cotton.
- Branding: embroidery.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €8.34/unit.
9. Espresso Mug: the desk essential
A proper espresso cup for the coffee obsessives on the team, a small gift that still gets used daily and barely dents the annual allowance.
- Material: ceramic.
- Branding: debossed or printed logo.
- Order: MOQ 108 · from €8.44/unit.
10. Stainless Steel Bottle: keeps drinks cold, desks tidy
A well-insulated bottle is a gift employees will actually reach for every day, and still costs under a tenth of the €100 limit.
- Material: double-wall insulated stainless steel.
- Branding: laser engraving or full-colour wrap print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €9.57/unit.
View the Stainless Steel Bottle →
11. Wireless Mini Speaker: a genuinely fun gift
A compact Bluetooth speaker is the kind of gift that gets a genuine thank-you: useful, a bit fun, and still well inside the general gift threshold.
- Material: ABS housing with a fabric-wrapped speaker grille.
- Branding: printed or engraved logo on the base.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €10.34/unit.
View the Wireless Mini Speaker →
12. Recycled Steel Bottle: everyday hydration
Vacuum insulation in recycled stainless steel, a gift that gets used and seen every day, at just over a tenth of the €100 annual limit.
- Material: recycled stainless steel.
- Branding: laser engraving or print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €11.00/unit.
View the Recycled Steel Bottle →
Cash and gift cards never qualify
Neither exemption above survives contact with cash. Any gift paid as cash, a bank transfer, or a freely convertible or unrestricted gift card is treated as ordinary taxable wages, in full, regardless of the occasion or whatever label is attached to it. This applies equally whether you're trying to use the milestone-gift standard or the €100 general gift threshold: cash and unrestricted vouchers sit outside both.
To stay tax-free, a gift card has to be pre-restricted, meaning it's tied to a specific item, a specific service, or a named selection of vendors rather than something the recipient could simply withdraw as money or spend anywhere. A restricted, non-convertible voucher for a chosen product range can work; a general-purpose prepaid card cannot.
Client gifts: edustuslahja vs. mainoslahja
Gifts to clients and business contacts follow an entirely separate framework from employee gifts, split into two distinct categories with very different tax treatment.
Edustuslahja (representation gift) is a gift individually chosen for a specific business contact, for example something given for their birthday, and often includes higher-value items such as alcohol. Under EVL 8 § 1 mom. 8 kohta, an edustuslahja is only 50% deductible for corporate tax purposes, and there is no VAT deduction at all on it.
Mainoslahja (advertising or promotional gift) is different in kind, not just in value: it's a low-value, mass-produced, identical item given simultaneously to multiple recipients, typically branded with the company's logo. A qualifying mainoslahja is 100% deductible for corporate tax, and VAT on it is deductible too.
The distinguishing line between the two is largely about price. Verohallinto states that a mainoslahja with a VAT-inclusive purchase price of at most €50 can generally be considered "tavanomainen" (ordinary) and treated as a promotional gift. Above that figure, the item risks being reclassified as a non-qualifying gift rather than a mainoslahja, losing the more favourable tax treatment.
One further point worth flagging clearly: alcohol gifts are always treated as an edustuslahja, regardless of their value. Even a low-cost bottle given identically to many recipients doesn't qualify as a mainoslahja; alcohol simply falls outside that category by definition.
Common mistakes
- Assuming there's a fixed euro cap for milestone gifts. There isn't one. Milestone gifts follow the open "tavanomainen ja kohtuullinen" standard, with Verohallinto's one-to-two-weeks'-salary figure offered only as a practical guideline, not a legal ceiling like the €100 general gift threshold.
- Giving alcohol as a mainoslahja. Alcohol is always classified as an edustuslahja, no matter how low its cost or how many identical bottles are distributed, so it never qualifies for the 100%-deductible, VAT-deductible mainoslahja treatment.
- Using a freely convertible gift card. A general-purpose or cash-convertible voucher is treated as ordinary taxable wages under both the milestone-gift and general-gift rules; only a voucher restricted to a specific item, service, or named vendor selection can stay tax-free.
Note: this article is a general explainer, not tax advice. Thresholds and interpretations can change — confirm how they apply to your business with your accountant or payroll provider.
Order gifts for your team
Every product above is fully customisable with your branding and available in business order quantities. Browse the full range in the Sunday catalogue to put together a gifting programme that stays comfortably within Finland's €100 general gift threshold, or within a sensible guideline for a milestone gift.
